Rockets ready for playoff dress rehearsal against Lakers

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The Rockets will have their big three of James Harden, Chandler Parsons and Jeremy Lin, for the season finale against the Lakers. (Johnny Hanson / Chronicle)

The Rockets looked around Staples Center and imagined the scene to come. The last game of the regular season could be the biggest for the Lakers, complete with all the atmosphere and intensity the Rockets imagine will be awaiting them this weekend when the playoffs begin.

As dress rehearsals go, the Rockets could hardly find one better.

“It’s exciting,” Chandler Parsons said. “There’s no bigger stage. There’s tons of media surrounding it. We got to block all that out and come out here and play our game, not worry about what goes on in the game before us. We got to come out here with the mentality we got to win the game, focus in on what we have to do to do that.

“I think we’re excited. We’re young. We’re amped. We’re psyched. Our style of play fits this kind of stage, exciting to play, exciting to watch. I think we’re ready for it and I think we’re mature enough to block out all the distractions and go out and play basketball.”

The Rockets were off on Tuesday after the back-to-back. They will have a dramatically different game plan for the Lakers with Kobe Bryant out and much of the offense running through Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard. They said it will be especially important for wing players to help inside and on the boards.

James Harden said he struggled with his right knee after a first-quarter collision with Luis Scola, but not issues with the knee on Wednesday. He made 1 of 12 shots the rest of the game Monday.

“After that first quarter, it stiffened up, especially with my jumping leg so I couldn’t explode like I wanted to,” Harden said.

“It’s a great experience tonight, a great opportunity to come to LA, they’re fighting for their playoff lives and we’re trying to get a win,” Harden said. “It’s going to be a great atmosphere. Everybody is going to be watching. That’s what we want.”

With a loss, Harden and the Rockets would face a first-round matchup with his former team, but he said the Rockets are not playing to avoid the Oklahoma City Thunder.

“We just want to get a win, a good win, and kind of get our swagger back going into the playoffs,” Harden said. “We have to do whatever it takes to get a win.”

Few could feel bigger. For a team with five rotation players that have never played in the post-season, tonight will offer a chance to play in a game that will feel like it.

“We’re going to be in a hostile environment,” Jeremy Lin said. “Probably going to be as crazy at it’s been all year. If we come out of here alive and we’re winning this game it’ll mean a lot, and if we don’t we’ll learn a lot, so it definitely will be valuable.”